Bride of Bahadir

”And just how do you intend to do that?” Strega asks with a wry smile.

Talliver looks around the woods, inspecting the foliage and the underbrush, keeping eyes peeled for signs of tracks. ”Nobody walks without a trace.”

Talliver searches for humanoid footprints and finds more than he bargained for. He can tell that at least a dozen humanoids have been through these forests recently. He can also tell there are two or three different 'groups' of prints which split off in different directions- in other words, there's more than one group of poachers.

...Talliver also happens to hear footsteps nearby. He looks up just in time to spot a leather-clad man leveling a bow at him, and he quickly ducks to avoid the shot. To his left he sees another man who is similarly-dressed and has a falcon on one shoulder.

Galran makes quick work of one of the poachers, but the other man and his falcon prove to be more dangerous, with their combined attacks knocking Morgan out. The man then chooses to disengage and whistle out for more of his allies.

Strega quickly gives chase and puts her sword to his throat. "I doubt you came here today to die, so unless you've changed your mind I recommend calling off whatever support you're trying to get. But if you are suicidal I am happy to oblige."

Whether it's a bluff or not, the world may never know; the man certainly finds it very convincing, and cries out in utter terror. "N-nevermind!" he chokes out. "Don't come! Don't come!"

Strega looks down at the man's pants and completely fails to stifle a laugh. "Oh man, you peed your pants. I didn't know I could be that scary," she manages to blurt out between fits of chuckling. Then in a flash her expression hardens. "But seriously, you're gonna come with us and you're gonna answer some questions. For your sake, your answers better be good."

The poor guy looks like he might as well die from shame at this point. "Fine... just don't kill Ward." He gestures to the unconscious poacher.

"So long as he doesn't do anything stupid," Strega replies as she begins tying up the captured enemy. Once she finishes she walks over and places her hand on Morgan. A bright light shines as Morgan's wounds heal slightly. "Up and at'em. We've still got work to do."

Morgan sits up, shaking her head. "Bloody bird got the drop on me," She says, picking up her black sword.

"So is there anything stopping us from restraining these folks and finding our way to Bahadir? It seems to me that if we want in his good graces, this is the quick ticket," Talliver notes in a low tone to his comrades.

”Well of course we’re gonna do that,” Strega replies in a hushed tone. ”But we might as well question these guys while we can and see about getting the whole bunch.”

"Mm. I suppose that's true," Talliver says, thumbing at his chin. He turns back around to the poacher, and wonders aloud, "So why this, hm? There a reason you're poaching? Just thought it sounded fun?"

"All these animals out here, you think 'Lord Bahadir' will notice a few missing?" says the man, saying Bahadir's name with obvious contempt. "We've been doing this for almost a month. You're the first ones who've tried to stop us."

"You say the name with such venom," Talliver notes conversationally.

"You want I should spin a sob story about my starving family back home?" He shrugs. "Nah. I just like hunting, and this 'game reserve' is just the lord's way of showing his dick to everyone."

”You’re not wrong, but you are still an asshole,” Strega replies. ”Like it or not he owns the land. You could just as easily go hunt elsewhere. Anyway, where are the rest of your friends and how many of them are there?”

"Minus me and Ward, there's four guys left. And there's always one guy at camp. The other three, they can't be far away. We were all together when we saw you guys coming; we decided we'd split up, try to surround you and take pot shots at you until you died or ran away. They're probably still watching right now." He then gives the location of their camp, using local landmarks as reference. Thanks to Strega's intimidation, he keeps his voice down and doesn't make any obvious gestures.

"Thanks, but you're not off the hook yet. You're coming with us." Strega nudges her captive, and he nods and complies. As they walk, the party can hear the footsteps of the poacher's three 'friends' nearby, still watching. However, when they realize where the group is going, they quickly scatter.

As was mentioned, the camp is practically empty, with just one man sleeping beside the campfire. Bear traps are laid about, but Morgan and Talliver spot them and help the others avoid them.

Pulling some rope out of her backpack Morgan quickly ties up the sole inhabitant of the camp. "Well, we have their supplies and a couple of their buddies, unless they're willing to go to another camp to beg for supplies, unlikely if they're anything like the thieves dens I've dealt with, they'll have to come back sooner or later. Might as well make them come to us, and use their camp to catch our breaths while we wait," She says afterwards.

The sleeping man wakes up, but not in time to prevent himself from being tied up. He curses loudly and profusely, then shoots an accusing look at the party's 'prisoner'. "Devin! You helped them!?"

Devin silently stares at his feet.

"Well, you're fucked now!" the tied man spits at the party. "I bet the others'll go join Glenna's group. Hope you like being outnumbered!"

Galran raises a stern looking eyebrow. "An' who'd this Glenna be, then?"

"Well aren't you full of yourself," Strega chides as she shoves a rag into the man's mouth. She gives him a harsh slap across the face for good measure. "Listen and listen clear, cause I'm only going to say this once. If you want to make it out of this alive you're gonna be a good little prisoner and stop trying to give us lip. If I have any reason to suspect you've done something to help blow this all up, it's your head on the floor. Nod if I've made myself clear."

The party spends some time learning what they can about Glenna. They learn that she is a woman who fights like a berserker, and that the remaining members of the other poaching group have joined hers. Eventually the group confronts her, and with no magic-users on her side, Glenna is defeated.

"Damn," she says, suddenly laughing. "That was a good fight... way more fun than killing animals. Speaking of which... there's a third group of poachers out here, and they're real freaks. I've seen them just gnawing at their kills, eating them raw. Even I'd be happy if you took them out."

[OOC: we level 2 now~]